Man pleads guilty to 1994 death

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - A family says they finally have justice, eighteen years after a hit and run accident killed their loved one.

In Louisa, 36-year-old Brandon Fields admitted to accidentally running over John Banks, Junior back in 1994.

For years, Fields kept it a secret...saying he was "young and scared" at the time. Back in 2010, police got a break, after a "cold case" report aired on the news.

Prosecutors say it was difficult, for both sides.

"No one wanted to see Mr. Fields not have the opportunity to provide for his family anymore. However, there needed to be some punishment to make him accountable for his actions of keeping this secret the past 18 years," said Louisa Commonwealth's Attorney Rusty McGuire.

Fields has already paid $6,000 to the Banks family. He'll now spend a year in jail, then deliver flowers to the victim's grave site every year, for the rest of his life.